Advanced Concentration Macro Competencies for Social Work Practitioners: Identifying Knowledge,Values, Judgment and Skills to Promote Human Well-Being

The Association of Community Organization and Social Administration (ACOSA) was formed in 1987–88; thereafter, the annual ACOSA meetings became part of the Council on Social Work Education's (CSWE) Annual Program Meeting (Roberts-DeGennaro, 2002 Roberts-DeGennero, M. (2002). History of ACOSA. http://www.acosa.org/history.html (http://www.acosa.org/history.html)  [Google Scholar]). ACOSA's purpose is “to promote teaching, research, and social work practice in the areas of community organization and social administration” (ACOSA, 2011a Association of Community Organization and Social Administration. (2011a). Goals and Focus for the Decade, Approved by the ACOSA Board of Directors, January 11, 2011. http://www.acosa.org/CO_ACOSA_Goals_Focus.pdf (http://www.acosa.org/CO_ACOSA_Goals_Focus.pdf)  [Google Scholar]). Most schools of social work have some required content for students in the areas of policy practice, program development, community planning, organizational development, administration, management, and community and neighborhood organizing. Organizational members sought to support these areas with research, best practice identification, and effective teaching/learning strategies.     

Texts and the ontology of organizations and institutions

This paper examines the problem of how institutions and the phenomena called formal or large-scale organization exist—the problem of the ontology of organizations and institutions. It addresses this problem using an approach that has been developed as part of a sociology exploring the social from women's standpoint, from which standpoint the extra-locality and objectification of these forms of organization are problematized. For the most part, sociology formulates the phenomena of organizations and institutions in lexical forms of organization, institution, information, communication and the like, which suppress the presence of subjects and the local practices that produce the extra-local and objective. This paper argues that texts (or documents) are essential to the objectification of organizations and institutions and to how they exist as such. It suggests that exploring how texts mediate, regulate and authorize people's activities expands the scope of ethnographic method beyond the limits of observation; texts are to be seen as they enter into people's local practices of wrking, drawing, reading, looking and so on. They must be examined as they coordinate people's activities.     

Ulster Protestants in New Zealand: A Bibliographic Essay

One of the most noticeable aspects of recent studies which examine Irish migration to New Zealand has been the identification of a sizeable contingent of Ulster Protestant settlers within that migrant stream. Their presence has proven to be a complicating factor in how the history of the Irish in New Zealand has been written and has made easy assumptions about the loyalty, identity, politics and ethnicity of that population impossible. This essay surveys the existing literature on New Zealand's Ulster Protestant population across a wide range of subjects while at the same time considering their apparent disappearance as a distinct ethnic grouping in the new world.     

Scientific Peer Review to Inform Regulatory Decision Making: Leadership Responsibilities and Cautions

The article offers insights on the peer-review process as it relates to scientific and technical reports used to inform regulatory decisions. Used effectively, peer review is a powerful tool for advising organizational leaders whether the scientific foundations of their decisions can be expected to withstand scrutiny as rule-making products move through interagency reviews, public comment and stakeholder processes, congressional oversight, and judicial review. The emphasis is "heads up" rather than "how to." That is, without delving into myriad technical and administrative details, the discussion highlights nine fundamental "leadership responsibilities" that determine the nature and course of peer review.     

Psychosocial effects of war experiences among displaced children in southern Darfur

This study focused on assessing the psychosocial effects of the long standing, high intensity, and guerrilla-style of warfare among displaced children in Southern Darfur. The goal was to better understand the etiology, prognosis, and treatment implications for traumatic reactions, depression, and grief symptoms in this population. Three hundred thirty-one children aged 6-17 from three IDP Camps were selected using a quota sampling approach and were administered a Demographic Questionnaire, Child Post Traumatic Stress Reaction Index, Child Depression Inventory, and the Expanded Grief Inventory. Forty-three percent were girls and 57% were boys. The mean age of the children was 12 years. Results found that children were exposed to a very large number of war experiences with no significant differences between genders for types of exposure, including rape, but with older children (13-17 years) facing a larger number of exposures than younger children (6-12 years). Out of the 16 possible war experiences, the mean number was 8.94 (SD = 3.27). Seventy-five percent of the children met the DSM-IV criteria for PTSD, and 38% exhibited clinical symptoms of depression. The percentage of children endorsing significant levels of grief symptoms was 20%. Increased exposure to war experiences led to higher levels of: (1) traumatic reactions; (2) depression; and (3) grief symptoms. Of the 16 war experiences, abduction, hiding to protect oneself, being raped, and being forced to kill or hurt family members were most predictive of traumatic reactions. Being raped, seeing others raped, the death of a parent/s, being forced to fight, and having to hide to protect oneself were the strongest predictors of depressive symptoms. War experiences such as abduction, death of one's parent/s, being forced to fight, and having to hide to protect oneself were the most associated with the child's experience of grief. In addition to Total Grief, Traumatic Grief, Existential Grief, and Continuing Bonds were measured in these children. Although trauma, depression, and grief often exist as co-morbid disorders, the mechanisms and pathways of these is less understood. In this study we used Structural Equation Modeling to better understand the complex interaction and trajectories of these three symptoms evolving from war exposure and loss. This study is the first of its kind to assess the psychosocial effects of war experiences among children currently living in war zone areas within Sudan. It identifies some of the most prevalent war-related atrocities and their varying impact on the children's psychological well-being and overall adjustment. Implications for planning mental health interventions are discussed.     

Gender in/and/of Health Inequalities

The relationship between gender and health inequalities is potentially complicated, raising questions for health and social research, practice and policy. In this paper, I use two population health case studies – obesity and smoking – to explore the interplay between gender and socioeconomic position. The cases show that, on its own, neither dimension of inequality affords a comprehensive picture of these significant risks to public health. Furthermore, historical change in the socioeconomic and gendered distribution of these health risks suggests that gender is best considered as a dynamic and layered form of differentiation, rather than as a simple or stable dichotomy. A more nuanced approach to the analysis of gender and health has the potential to generate both more fruitful research and more effective health and social policy.